A Note On the Real Net Worth of the Average American Household
Just fyi….
Annoyingly, I cannot find data on the net worth of households alone going back to 1975 – only to 1987 – I can before 1987 find data only on the net worth of households and nonprofits. But I did find here that the net worth of nonprofits in the mid-1970s was only about $101 billion – which was then a mere 1.7% of the total net worth of households and nonprofits combined. So to calculate the total net worth of households alone in 1975, I reduced the total figure for households and nonprofits net worth combined by 1.7%. In 2024 dollars, that figure comes to $25.9512 trillion. Data on the number of U.S. households by year are here; and I adjusted the nominal dollars for inflation using this GDP Deflator calculator.
In 2024 (Q3), the total net worth of U.S. households was $159.880 trillion, and in 2024 there were 132,216,000 households. So the average household net worth in 2024 (Q3) was $1,209,233.
In 2001 (Q4) (when China joined the WTO) the total real net worth of U.S. households was $73.745 trillion (in 2024 dollars). In 2001 there were 108,209,000 households. In 2001 (Q4) the average U.S. household, therefore, had a real net worth (in 2024 dollars) of $681,505.
In 1994 (Q1) (when NAFTA took effect) the total real net worth of U.S. households was $49.070 trillion (in 2024 dollars). In 1994 there were 97,107,000 households. In 1994 (Q1), therefore, the average U.S. household had a real net worth (in 2024 dollars) of $505,319.
In 1975, the total net real worth of U.S. households (as stated above) was $25.9512 trillion, and in 1975 there were 71,120,000 U.S. households. Thus, in 1975 the average U.S. household had a real net worth (in 2024 dollars) of $364,893.
Therefore, in 2024 (Q3), the average U.S. household’s real net worth was:
– 231% higher than it was in 1975
– 139% higher than it was in 1994
– 77% higher than it was in 2001.
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